Tony Iommi Contemplates Collaboration With Rob Halford

Legendary guitarist Tony Iommi has been getting the itch again to return to the music after the end of Black Sabbath, and in a new interview with Metal Hammer the guitar great says he'd be interested in teaming up with the Metal God himself, Rob Halford.

The two musicians recently reunited for a Metal Hammer photo shoot, during which Iommi stated, "We’ve talked about [working together] for ages. When the time’s right it would be nice to write a track or two, or whatever. I’d like to do that. It’s nice to work with people that you respect and like."

There is a history between the two artists as Halford filled in as vocalist for Black Sabbath a couple of times when they were in need of a singer to fulfill a concert. Halford famously stepped in for Ronnie James Dio just after the singer exited the band as Sabbath opened two shows for Ozzy Osbourne in 1992, and he also once filled in for Ozzy Osbourne who had become ill during one of the Ozzfest performances in 2004.

Back in February, Iommi expressed his desire to resume writing, but had been focused at that point in dealing with some charity work for the Heartlands Hospital. Speaking about his current status, the guitarist stated, "I’m not writing at the moment, but I will be. I moved house, and I’ve only just got set up again. It’s great to have a break – you come back fresh."

Iommi previously told The Midland Rocks, "The time is just flying by and I think because of all the years of not seeing my friends that often it has got to the stage now where I see them a lot. And we moved house, and we met a new group of friends and so we have the old friends and the new friends and we just seem to be doing more than ever."

While Iommi is taking his time deciding his next move, Halford is as busy as ever with Judas Priest hitting the road in support of their newly released Firepower album. Dates for the run can be seen here.